prologue

• "Two households, both alike in dignity”

  • the first line in the play shows the likeness of the families which makes their feud more ironic
  • to be “both alike in dignity” means that they had the same social standing
  • in the Elizabethan times a person's social status was very important it dictated the way they lived their life, the clothes they wore, the friends they had, everything
• “From ancient grudge break to new mutiny”

  • the audience is told that the feud is “ancient”
  • this adjective has connotations with something old, sacred and almost untouched; as though it had been like this since the beginning of time, it is a force nothing can break
  • it is then juxtaposed by the “new mutiny” which means that there is new violence which foreshadows the intensity that is brought about through the young lovers
• “A pair of star-cross'd lovers take their life”

  • this may be one of the most famous lines in the play because it perfectly sums up the tragedy of Romeo and Juliet
  • during the Elizabethan times, people were incredibly superstitious and believed in fate and that people’s lives were written in the stars, to be “star-cross’d” meant that they were frustrated by the stars
• “Doth with their death bury their parents' strife.”

  • the use of bury is a play on words as by putting the words “death” and “bury” together emphasises the importance of the lovers' death
  • their lover’s death was not only an act to show their eternal love for each other but it also ended their parents' rivalry